The present invention relates to vehicle tires and a method of manufacturing vehicle tires.
A majority of tires for vehicles, e.g. automobiles, trucks, tractors, aircraft, and the like, are constructed on a rotatable building drum by applying a plurality of strips of rubber or rubberized material sequentially, during the course of which a rigid ring or bead is applied to each edge of the tire so that when the tire is inflated on a rim the beads tightly engage the rim at all times.
It has long been considered highly desirable to develop a method of forming tires for vehicles without the use of a laborious and expensive assembly process. Several processes have been proposed for the manufacture of tires from elastomeric resins by casting, molding, and variations thereof. These methods have included rotationally casting a complete tire in a single mold having a segmented core, molding identical tire halves and later joining them by adhesion, welding, or mechanical means, and a variation of the latter process wherein a vulcanizable rubber tread is bonded to a tire casing preformed from a segmented thermoplastic copolyester elastomer.
These prior art methods have proven unsatisfactory. Either the process is too complicated or uneconomical, or the tire produced thereby does not satisfy tire performance standards. It is, therefore, desirable that a process be found which is simple, economical and capable of forming tires which satisfy the performance standards.
Pneumatic tires derive their load-carrying capabilities from their inflation pressure. Their vulnerability through loss of inflation pressure has long been a drawback. As a result, non-pneumatic and semi-pneumatic tires whose load-bearing, riding, and handling properties resemble those of conventional pneumatic tires, have been prepared by the proper selection of an elastomer material and the use of complicated internal support structures formed integrally with the tire. Such internal structures may contain a plurality of separate generally radially extending webs spaced about the circumferential direction of the tire. It would be desirable to find a tire manufacturing process which would be particularly adaptable to the production of such non-pneumatic tires.
An object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive process for the manufacture of tires said process being capable of being totally automated.
Another object is to provide a tire by such a process.
Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds.